True Crime Shit

All items courtesy of the Museum of Death in Hollywood. 

AILEEN WUORNOS'S PANTIES

Aileen Wuornos was a serial killer who murdered seven men while working as a prostitute. You already know that because Charlize Theron won an Oscar for playing her in a movie. These are the prison-issue panties Wuornos wore while awaiting execution in Florida. That little red patch on the crotch is presumably her period blood. So at least we know she’s clone-able.

COFFIN-TORPEDO PATENT

Back in the 19th century, grave robbery was a big problem. To combat this, several companies began manufacturing devices designed to fuck up anyone who tried to get into a coffin that he or she shouldn’t be getting into. This patent from 1878 is for an invention called a “coffin-torpedo,” which was a shotgun-like device that would fire metal balls at anyone who attempted to open the coffin to which it was attached. At least three men are known to have been killed by such devices.

HENRI DÉSIRÉ LANDRU’S HEAD

Henri Désiré Landru was a Frenchman who spent the 1910s using lonely hearts ads to lure widows to his house before dismembering them and burning their bodies in his oven. He was executed by guillotine in 1922. His head is currently on display at Hollywood’s Museum of Death. When we asked them how they’d acquired it, all they would tell us was that it took “a lot of phone calls and a lot of air miles.”

O.J. SIMPSON TRADING CARDS

Murderers are some of the most famous people on earth. So it’s no surprise an entire industry has popped up to create unofficial killer merchandise. Elsewhere in the Museum of Death, you’ll see a Charles Manson mug, a commemorative Timothy McVeigh execution T-shirt, a Richard Ramirez plush doll, and a pack of Jeffrey Dahmer–branded mistletoe.

ASSORTED PRISON CRAFTS

Being in prison for life can get mega boring. Luckily for mass murderers, most prisons give prisoners access to art supplies. The origami animals you see here were made by Charles Ng, who is currently on death row for his involvement in the rape and murder of at least 11 women. The pop-up greeting card (the front of which reads “The family that prays together”) was made by Lawrence Bittaker, who, along with a partner, raped, tortured, and murdered five teenage girls. The pink hat was knitted by Randy Steven Kraft, who is believed to have raped, mutilated, and killed up to 67 young men and boys.

ASSORTED PRISON SHANKS

Sometimes, people in prison really, really want to kill someone but don’t have access to real weapons because they’re in prison. This is a selection of improvised weapons confiscated from within the Oklahoma State penal system. According to the museum, all of them were used in fatal attacks.